No matter how long Sal had been in the past, no matter how much he had learned to cope and to live in a way he hadn't before - some things had never changed.
For all of Sal's knowledge, he had never been able to predict what happened next. Sal knew, that mostly he was at fault for that - he, and his old history professor, Binns. In all the time in the past, there had been times and times again where Sal had cursed his younger self who had never bothered to learn more about history than he had to.
Sadly enough, even the few parts Sal had learned once, had been lost after the individual test he had to pass. In other words, there had never been a time in the past that Sal knew more about than the basics - if at all.
Sal had to admit that he had resented his past-self a bit for that fact. But, there had never been a possibility to change what had already happened, so Sal had accepted it over the millennia.
So, Sal was used to stumbling into situations he had no knowledge off - what he wasn't used to were dreams that seemed to be the contrary.
Sal had dreamed a thousand things over his lifetime. He had had nightmares, good dreams, splendid dreams and memories. He had been scared, exited, happy and sad in his dreams - but he had never had a dream like the one he had the night after he had revealed to Sirius that he was from the future.
In the dream, Sal found himself walking in the woods.
The forest was old - old, and oddly familiar, even if Sal, no matter how much he tried, couldn't remember why it looked so familiar.
Sal walked the woods until he reached a familiar stone circle.
Next to it, a man was leaning against a tree, his face shadowed and irrecognisable.
"You're here," the stranger said, his voice raspy and so… familiar.
"I am," Sal agreed and stepped forwards towards the man. "Why are you here?"
The stranger seemed to smile, the shadows moving and for a moment, his eyes seemed to flash silver.
"Because you need me," he said. "I've always come when you needed me - and I always will."
Sal just stared at the man and the stranger sighed.
"Albus Dumbledore," he said. "He's the leader of the other resistance team in this war. He's working against the current dark lord, just like you are - yet, you go out of your way to steer clear of him."
For a moment, Sal stared at the stranger. Then his eyes hardened.
"I won't forgive, because I can't forget," he countered, his eyes sad and bitter at the same time. "I will never forget."
And as hard as it was, it was the truth. He would never forget, never forgive - but then, some things shouldn't and couldn't be forgiven…
And Albus Dumbledore, for all that he was the current leader of the light, was a man who couldn't be forgiven from Sal's point of view - not for his deeds in the past… and not for his deeds in the future as well.
"I never said you had to forgive him," the stranger calmly replied. "I've only pointed out that you steer clear of him."
Sal shrugged.
"It's the best thing I can do," he said. "He's the leader of the light - and I can't go around and resent him openly."
The stranger laughed at that.
"Oh, my child," he exclaimed. "Of course you can't!"
Then he shook his head.
"But you won't be able to stay clear of him for forever. Sometimes, somewhere in the future, you will have to confront him. Sometimes, you will have to acknowledge him and fight against his rule."
Sal shrugged.
"I don't care for his reputation or whatever," he countered. "He can be called the next coming of atr for all I care."
The man stepped away from the tree at that.
His face… he was so familiar, so achingly beloved and familiar and yet, no matter how much Sal sought to recognise him, he couldn't. Like a fog, restricting his vision, the stranger's face was kept from connecting to a name, no matter how much Sal knew that he should know the answer he sought for.
"You should care," the stranger said, his silver eyes piercing. "You're my heir. No matter what, no mortal should decide your fate."
And with a scream, Sal woke.
Sadly enough, it wouldn't stay the only nightmare Sal had about the man.
Instead, from that night on, the other man seemed to be part of Sal's dreams constantly, always watching, always judging, always there.
And always in the woods they had met the first time.
"Salvazsahar," the stranger called him, his eyes always settled on him in a way that felt strangely familiar and yet so foreign. "My child."
Yet, the words they spoke always differed.
Sometimes, there were apologies.
"I'm sorry, Salvazsahar. I guess, the most of what has happened to you is my fault, after all…"
Sometimes there were pleas.
"There's a boy. He's backed into a corner. It's your decision - but I wish you to take a second look at him."
And sometimes, there were explanations that didn't make sense.
"I needed you, Salvazsahar. You were born too late - and I needed you."
And slowly but surely, the nightmares seemed to seep into the living world.
"Are you alright, Sal?" Arcturus asked concerned. "You look distracted."
"Pater is seeing things again," Ana said, but no matter how light his tone of voice was, his eyes spoke of concern. "Don't worry, a good bite should stabilize him."
"You're not biting Sal, Anastasius!" Pollux immediately objected and Ana pouted.
"Why?" he whined. "I want to have a snack and Pater never objects!"
"You are aware that you're a vampire and that vampires have often the oddest reactions to magical blood, aren't you?" Arcturus countered. Ana sent him a pleading look in return.
"But I'm sure I won't react negatively at all when I snack on Pater!" he said pouting.
Sal rolled his eyes.
"Go back to looking for a new smuggling route in York," he told his son. "Snack later."
Ana sniffed sadly.
"Nobody is ever nice to the poor vampire in their midst," he said with crocodile tears in his eyes and with a suppressed eye-roll by both, Pollux and Arcturus, the topic was forgotten.
And if Sal let Ana eat from his wrist later on, it wasn't mentioned towards anybody else in the resistance - just like the concerned "Are you alright, Pater?" wasn't when Ana took Sal's wrist.
Sal just hummed.
"Nightmares," he confessed. "They won't stop, but yes, I'm alright."
The first thing James heard when Sirius entered their home was the voice of a loudly complaining Salvazsahar.
"How by wind and fire do you always know where to find me, Black?" he complained. "You don't have my address, you don't send me owls - you just seem to wait for the next battlefield to pick me up and drag me somewhere!"
"Yeah, well, if I want to get your address or another way to contact you sometimes in the future, I need to start interacting with you somehow!" Sirius countered immediately. "And you go out of your way to avoid me!"
"That's because I've more than enough experience with Blacks to know when to run!" the healer answered.
James watched amused while Sirius tried to push Salvazsahar into their kitchen. The healer was resisting, his hands on both sides of the door frame to avoid being pushed into the kitchen.
"Sirius," Lily said in that moment calmly, watching the byplay of Sirius pushing and Sal resisting. "Do you really think it's necessary to use force to drag Salvazsahar in here?"
Sirius frowned at Lily.
"Do you know how hard it is to get him to go somewhere on his own accord when it is with me?" he countered unhappily before pointing at Sal. "He's even going out of his way to avoid me since the day you were trapped in that cave!"
"With good reason," Salvazsahar countered while looking over his shoulder at the other man. "You've been bothering me even more than Ana at his worst - and that means something!"
"Who's Ana?" James asked interestedly.
The healer turned to look and James before rolling his eyes.
"The son of a Slytherin who turned out the most Gryffindor of all Gryffindors without ever going to Hogwarts as a student," he answered without answering at all.
James blinked.
"O… kay," he said slowly.
Sirius on the other hand decided to use Sal's distraction to get the other man into the kitchen by poking him into the side.
Sal winced and Sirius used that to push the other man with a triumphant smile into the kitchen.
James watched Sirius a bit amused, while Sal turned to frown at the other man.
"You're the worst," he told the Black. "And that means something considering how many people I've gotten to know over my life!"
Sirius pouted.
"You're such a Lily, sometimes," he complained. "One could think you were rel-"
He was stopped from saying more when the other man returned the poking with so much force that Sirius rescued himself with a squeal by hiding behind Lily.
"Did you just insult me?" James wife asked Sirius and turned to look at the hiding man with narrowed eyes.
"Never!" Sirius immediately replied. "You're perfect, Lils! Totally-!"
James didn't even try to defend his brother in all but blood when his wife teamed up with the healer and decided to tickle him into submission, instead, he continued to watch the other three interact while thinking that no matter how often he had met Sal before, he didn't know the healer at all…
In the end, over the next few months, Sirius started to drag the healer he had met on the battlefield everywhere he went - and not only to James' home when he visited James and Lily.
Nevertheless, while James had gotten to know the healer over their interactions thanks to Sirius' insistence on dragging him along, James couldn't say that he knew the other man well - Merlin, he couldn't even say if he liked the man or not.
So, when James ended up without Sirius on the battlefield in the care of the healer, he wasn't too sure if he could actually trust the man - not that he was actually in the condition to actually think about it.
Instead, he was sitting in the middle of the battlefield, unable to focus on anything but the wound in his chest.
He had been out with other Aurors who had been called to a disturbance in Hogsmeade - just to find out that the disturbance was a Death Eater raid and that James and the other three who had been sent, were too few to stop them.
They had been overwhelmed by the Death Eaters, and it didn't matter how good of a fighter James was, he and the others had been picked up one after another.
James knew that at least one of his colleagues had died and he wasn't sure about the other two who had been with them.
The only thing he knew was that he had been hit by a cutting curse into the torso just a moment ago - and the way he was bleeding and the fact that he wasn't able to breathe anymore showed that it was even worse than it looked.
Not, that it looked good.
"Not feeling too good right now, are you?" one of the Death Eaters surrounding James mocked him.
"You could join us," another one added. "I'm sure the Dark Lord would even let you keep your little mudblood as a mistress if you truly wished it."
James stared at the others, defiance in his eyes even while he felt himself shaking.
The way his blood left his body… the red on his robes… it made him shudder just to think about it, but he couldn't show it in front of the enemy, so he turned his eyes towards his opponents and tried to ignore the rising panic inside him.
"I'm not joining you," he spat out, and for a moment, he felt like he was about to go down coughing when his lungs suddenly didn't seem to have any air left.
It was only his determination that stopped him from actually coughing and showing weakness.
James wouldn't die while looking weak.
Instead, he concentrated, blinked back the black spots dancing in front of his eyes and then took aim to shoot another spell at one of the Death Eaters.
It hit, bringing the man down, but a simple expelliarmus took care of James's ability to defend himself.
"We should have guessed that," one of the Death Eaters grumbled and lifted his wand, clearly preparing to kill James. "Potters have always been stubborn, after all."
James guessed that he had a right to feel proud that his family was known for a trait like that, sadly enough, his injuries prevented him from actually feeling more than pain and the panic when he noticed that it was harder and harder for him to breathe.
"Good," he pressed out instead, supressing his urge to cough again.
He heard a scoff from one of the Death Eaters, but his vision swam and he couldn't focus enough to see who had been the one to scoff - not that he could actually recognize anybody with their masks and the fact that the masks also had a charm to change a voice imbedded.
"Stubborn, Potter," one of them said. "Let's kill him and continue on. He's not that important for the Dark L-"
Before the Death Eater could finish his sentence, the sounds of apparation surrounded them and the next moment, there was spell-fire all around them, aimed at the Death Eaters.
It seemed as if whoever had entered the fight, definitely wasn't on the Death Eaters' side.
One of the Death Eaters turned to throw a curse towards James' sitting form, but one of the new arrived strangers shielded him and James' attention was drawn from the fight towards his wounds when he tore them while trying to avoid the incoming curse.
James hissed, his eyes finding the wound.
The blood, the way it left his body and… James refused to look closer and instead closed his eyes. His wound was bad enough, he didn't have to watch it as well. Nevertheless, the short look had been enough already. His breathing quickened with the panic raising in his chest - just to send him coughing when he was unable to breathe properly.
Blood splattered on his clothing, coughed up just seconds before.
James stared at the blood.
His breathing quickened.
The remembrance of his surroundings faded, his eyes and all of his attention was drawn to his blood and the wound on his chest.
He felt the panic rising - and this time around, there were no Death Eaters threatening his life and forcing him to stay strong.
His breathing tried to quicken even more, sending him coughing again which made him panic even more.
He shuddered, his hand reaching for his wound, feeling horror and shock running through him while he was trying to desperately get air.
"Still alive, there?"
James startled, his fast, laboured breathing stopped for a second and he forced his eyes open to look at the speaker.
It was the healer.
"Salvazsahar," James whispered and refused to acknowledge it when some fluid decided to tickle down the corner of his mouth. He didn't even want to see what it was, but he suspected that it was some of the blood he had started to irregularly cough up over the last few minutes.
That thought alone tried to quicken his breath again - which ended in another coughing-fit.
When his eyes finally focused on the face of the other man again, he could see that Sal's eyes - while his face was neutral - showed quite a bit of concern for him.
"James," Sal returned the greeting and then knelt down next to him.
The moment the other man knelt down, a shimmering ward erected around them. James was only able to see the ward for a second before it vanished into nothingness - or, well, it fully activated and therefore wasn't able to be seen after.
"Calm down," the healer said, but James couldn't. His eyes had wandered to the blood on his clothing and while he bit his lip to slow down his breathing, he couldn't keep the slower pacing.
"I'm… I'm dying," he forced out. "Lily… I… I can't leave Lily… the baby…"
"Calm down," Salvazsahar replied calmly. "You're not going to die. Just calm down."
But James couldn't.
Instead, his coughing returned with force.
"Shh…" the healer said and a hand squeezed James'. "You're going to be fine. Concentrate on me. Breathe in… hold… breathe out."
James tried, but instead, he was still coughing, desperate to draw in another breath and yet, absolutely unable to.
"Calm down," Sal said while leaning over him, his voice turning sterner and was suddenly backed with power. "It's going to be alright. Just breathe. In… out… in…"
That did it.
Finally, he managed to follow the instructions, unable not to at the command in the other one's voice.
At long last, the panic receded, leaving him with the nearly unbearable pain in his chest.
"Good," Sal said, his voice calm and not at all panicky, as if he had seen wounds like that a thousand times already.
"Now, I need you to breathe through the pain, James," he told him.
"Not… about to give… birth, am I?" James joked, while having a hard time breathing, yet still trying to follow the instructions.
"Oh, I hope not," Sal told him dryly. "This is definitely the wrong environment for you to give birth to your ego."
"Ha… ha…"
James couldn't help but adore the man Sirius had basically strong-armed into interacting with them. It was maybe the first time that James actually had the chance to understand the man-crush Sirius harboured for the healer a bit better.
The healer winked at him before suddenly resting his hands on both sides of the wound in James' chest. There was a sharp tuck and an all surrounding pain that spread from the wound through all his extremities like wildfire. It felt like he had taken a hit with the Cruciatus, but while most of the pain was in the deepest part of his bones, it was different with his hands and feet which felt as if energy was dancing on top of their skin instead.
James screamed.
"Breathe through the pain!" He was harshly instructed by the healer kneeling next to him and torturing him. "For heaven's sake, James, breathe!"
So James tried to do like he had been instructed. He took huge, gulping yet shallow breaths, trying to breathe through the pain and bear it. Tears streamed down his face and in between breathing he whimpered, even pleaded with the healer to stop, yet he breathed.
"It's over soon," Sal assured him and he sounded winded and as if he was in pain as well. "It's over soon! Wind and fire! I hate doing this when a person is still conscious - but I definitely can't knock you out here, so I fear you'll have to bear with it."
In was then, that the pain finally abated.
James sucked in a desperate breath.
"Keep breathing shallowly," Sal said, stopping him from drawing another deep breath. "I've not healed you, yet."
"But-"
"Leaves… basically like a pain potion - or well, a variation of it," Sal countered before James could protest. "I fixed quite a bit of your chest already, but I still have to fix the rest."
James wanted to look down, but before he could, Sal's bloody hand stopped him.
"Don't look," he said. "I don't want you to panic again."
James blinked, but in the end decided to trust Sirius' trust in the healer and continued to not look at his wound.
"Will I… live?" he asked instead, trying to make light of his situation.
The other man snorted a bit amused.
"If you keep still," he agreed, clearly understanding that James needed to make light of the situation.
"Thank Merlin!" James breathed out, feeling relived.
"Don't move," the healer admonished him and James straightened immediately.
"Do… I want to know what you're doing in my chest?" he asked a bit warily.
"Healing your organs," came the dry reply.
James blinked, but didn't look down or change his breathing.
"My organs?" he repeated, quite surprised that Sal's casual way of answering had actually kept him calm instead of sending him into another panic-attack.
"Not the first time I'm doing something like that," the other man replied. "But the most time, people are unconscious when I do it."
James blinked again.
"Sounds like you've done that often already," he said, trying for casual. "How many years of experience ensured that you're now so calm when looking at wounds like mine?"
For a moment, he solely heard the soft laugh of the healer, then he got an answer.
"Decades," the other man replied. "Centuries, millennia - decide on one and keep that in mind as my answer."
James wanted to snort at that, but refrained since he remembered his instruction not to move his chest too much.
"Do you change your name with each answer I chose?" James asked, looking up into the sky while trying to ignore the sound of the battle surrounding them.
"I might," Sal replied a bit amused. "If you want me to, I can. My name is long enough to do so without trouble."
James rolled his eyes, a bit amused.
"Let me guess: traditionally named," he said.
"You're not a fan of traditional naming?" the other man countered.
James wanted to shrug, but stopped himself from doing so in the last second.
"Even the Blacks don't use the traditional method anymore," he countered. "And I'm married to a muggleborn. I doubt that she would be interested in giving a child three names with each parent and the godparent choosing one of them."
"Why not?" the healer countered. "Traditions like that have reasons, you know?"
James wanted to scoff.
"What kind of reason does giving a child three names have?" he countered.
"It's a way to specify the child in magic," the other man replied calmly. "We're bound to magic by our name and ancestry - there is a reason why there are so many legends about the true name having power."
"I can't imagine any true name that ever showed power," James countered immediately.
The answer was a laugh.
"Emrys," was the counter. "LeFay… Pendragon… Grim."
The last one made James suck in another breath with more force than he should.
Grim .
"I… can't actually deny that," he agreed, forcing his eyes to stay on the sky instead of looking at the other man.
"Don't worry," the other man said as if sensing James's distress at the mentioning of the Grim-name. "I won't go around tell anybody."
That stopped James breathing for a second.
"You… you… know," he aspirated slowly.
"I do," the other man replied calmly. "I knew your father."
James frowned.
"I… I can't remember… ever seeing you…. before Sirius ensured… that we met," he countered.
"We met," the healer replied, sounding a bit amused. "But as far as I remember, you were more interested in flying than meeting the boring adult who had come to meet your father."
That actually made James blink.
"Adult," he repeated incredulously, his eyes travelling to the other man's face who looked about as old as James.
"Adult," the other man replied amused. "Aging has always been a bit of a problem for me."
James blinked.
"Problem?" he asked a bit amused. "I can't imaging ever hearing anybody calling it a 'problem' when they age slower than normal."
The healer snorted amused.
"I think you've never heard my answer about experience ever before as well," he countered. "There's a reason why I gave you that answer."
James contemplated that.
"You knew me as a child?" he finally concluded.
"I knew your parents," the other man corrected. "I only met you once as a child."
James wasn't too sure if he should be happy about that or a bit sad that the other man was a stranger for him when he had known his parents.
"Did… you know them… well?"
"I did," the healer replied softly. "I worked with them for years in the last war."
James frowned at that.
"In the last war? Grindelwald?" he asked surprised and a bit confused.
"Grindelwald," the other man agreed.
"But you don't like Dumbledore," James said confused. "Shouldn't you-?"
"There're personal reasons why I can't work with him," Sal replied calmly and James couldn't help but take note of the coolness in the other man's voice when he spoke about the Headmaster. "And only some of them have to do with the war surrounding Grindelwald."
At that, the other man took his hands from James's chest.
James blinked.
"What-?" he asked but was interrupted by the healer.
"Try to take a deep breath," he said and James, still feeling a bit stumped at the abrupt change, did as he was told.
Nothing hurt.
The healer nodded.
"Good," he said and lifted a hand to destroy the ward surrounding them.
James watched surprised a spell shooting over his head, showing him that the fight obviously wasn't over with.
The healer threw an annoyed look towards the one who had cast the spell.
When a second came hurling at them, a simple flick of Salvazsahar's fingers ensured that another runic spell stopped the approaching spell.
Sal rolled his eyes.
"Some people are stupid," he said, sounding oddly dry with amusement. "This is Hogsmeade, if someone wants to actually have a chance in a fight, this is the worst place to choose."
Before James could ask about those words, spell-fire came at them from two sides at once. The healer frowned and a second later James couldn't help but wonder if the man wasn't able to bend the wards of Hogwarts to his will.
Wards sprung up all around them, surrounding the last of the Death Eaters and preventing them from throwing even more spells at them.
"Really, Sal?" a familiar man with a hood over his face said dryly. "Couldn't you have done that earlier?"
"I was preoccupied," Sal answered. "Why? Did you mind, Archie?"
The other man snorted amused.
"A bit help is always appreciated," he countered and his hooded head turned when his gaze took in the Death Eaters who had been stunned by some of the others after they had been surrounded by wards which let others stun them but prevented them from cursing others themselves. "Especially if it's help like that."
Sal threw him an amused look.
"I'll not always be able to help like that - and you know that, don't you?" he countered.
Archie snorted.
"You mean this is a special occasion?" he asked amused.
"Sure it is," another man who was also wearing a hood, spoke up. "Here's Hogsmeade. Pater's always been more powerful, here."
"Ana," Sal spoke up from next to James. "Shhh. Some things aren't what you blurt out like that in the middle of the street."
"I'm sorry," the new stranger immediately corrected himself. "I meant, Salvazsahar has always been more powerful, here… do you know how odd it is to say your first name, Pater?"
James couldn't help but feel amused at the healer's exasperated look.
"Not what I meant, and you know it, Ana," he told the other man a bit amused. "And now - off you go! We both know the fight here was more action than I wanted you to be involved in!"
The stranger immediately pointed at the man next to him.
"Archie dragged me here!" he defended himself. "He said we needed more manpower!"
The healer turned and looked at 'Archie' with a raised eyebrow. Said man shrugged, clearly unrepentant.
"Polly dared me," he said as if the dare was a very important reason to do drag somebody else into a fight. "And Marius was in the room."
The last thing was said in a very resigned way.
"Which meant that if you hadn't done it, he would," Sal concluded with a sigh. "I should have guessed that introducing you to Ana would have consequences like that."
The two men and another standing basically right beside them looked at each other guiltily.
"But if you hadn't, we'd have only half as much fun as we do!" the stranger who had been called Ana countered with a pout that could even be heard through his voice. "You wouldn't stop us from having fun, would you?"
Salvazsahar sighed and buried his head in one of his hands.
James snorted.
"Feeling like the Dad with your people, Salvazsahar?" he asked amused.
The healer returned James' amused glance with an eye-roll.
"You have no idea," he agreed before he turned back to the man called 'Ana'. "Didn't I tell you to leave?"
"You're so mean!" the other man whined, but when Sal send him another sharp glance, he actually turned on the spot and apparated away.
"I can see that your control of Ana is absolute," Archie commented dryly.
Sal snorted.
"No," he countered. "But he knows how far he can push me before I snap - normally, he tries to avoid that."
James couldn't help but snort.
"Sounds like me and my Dad," he said, only grimacing slightly when he remembered the death of his father.
Archie and Polly snorted amused, Sal on the other hand threw James a half-annoyed, half-amused look.
"Guess I'm related to your Dad then," the healer commented dryly. "And Ana with you."
At that, he scrutinized James closely.
"I guess there's a reason why Ana's always been influencing Black or been influenced by Blacks to get into trouble…"
Polly snickered.
"Guess that means that the Blacks have the best chances to take over the world one day," he said amused.
Sal threw the hooded man an annoyed look.
"Ana won't go around and help the Blacks to take over the world," he countered.
"No," Archie agreed. "But if Ana walks into danger because the Black family and he are taking over the world, you'd go and pull him out again - and consequently would take over the world for all of… them."
James snorted.
"I can see that," he agreed, his eyes travelling around the street where he could see unconscious Death Eater lying all over.
Sal threw him an annoyed look at that as well.
"Thanks, James," he said dryly.
"You're welcome," James immediately replied a bit cheekily, just to turn serious the next moment. "The others with me, are they?"
"Safe, the most of them," Archie replied. "One of them died. The others are hurt, and we sent two of them to St. Mungo's for treatment. The last is still here. He's not hurt that much."
James felt relief cursing through him at that answer.
"The ministry is sending people," one of the other strangers surrounding them said in that moment.
His voice sounded familiar.
For a moment, James wondered if Garrick Ollivander was part of Salvazsahar's group since the stranger's voice sounded like that.
Sal nodded.
"We're going," he agreed.
"But-"
James was stopped by a hand on his shoulder.
"We can't stay," Salvazsahar said. "The ministry is far too interested in our people - and Dumbledore as well - for us to stay."
James guessed that he could understand that.
"Wait!" he said when the others of Sal's group started to apparate away one after the other.
Salvazsahar stopped and turned back to James with a questioning look on his face.
"Can't you… I mean, I know that Sirius drags you everywhere when he finds you, but, well… can't you give us a way to contact you? You're a friend, after all - even if you're more Sirius' friend than Lily's and mine right now…"
The healer scrutinized James at that. Then he sighed.
"Owls addressed to Salvazsahar Malfoire should find me," he said.
James snorted.
"How by Merlin do you write that?"
Sal looked at him in amusement, before he flicked his hand at James.
"Just like that," he said amused and apparated away.
James blinked, frowned, raised his hand to scratch his head - just to see writing on the back of his hand which looked like written with black ink.
James guessed that it was Sal's name… but he couldn't read it.
It was written in runes.
James rolled his eyes towards nobody.
"Thanks, Salvazsahar," he said dryly. "That really helps."
Later, he would end up going to Lily and with her help would be able to change the writing to a lettering that he could actually understand.
"Guess he has your sense of humour," Sirius commented amused when he came by while James and Lily translated the words. "Are you sure that you're not related?"
James saw it as totally justified when he cursed his friend to talk backwards for the rest of the day.
"Have you ever thought about naming our child traditionally?"
"What do you mean 'traditionally'?"
"Like… the mother choses a name, the father does and the godfather does?"
"So… three names?"
"Yes, three names."
For a moment, Lily thought about it.
"And everybody would be able to choose a name?"
"Yes."
"Without anybody else influencing the others naming choice?"
"Yes."
Lily smiled.
"Why not?" she said. "It sounds like a good idea… especially because we've never seen eye to eye when it came to children's names."
James sighed and nodded. He guessed that he would have to live with the fact that his wife would choose his son's first name…
Over time, Sal started to interact with Sirius more and more. Even with his knowledge of a long forgotten future version of his godfather, Sal had to admit, that he didn't know the other man at all.
Sirius… Sirius was brilliant.
Insane - but definitely brilliant.
"James and I were confronted by the Dork Lord today," Sirius told him happily before sinking in the chair on the opposite of the table Sal had chosen today. "Lily wasn't happy, but she's a scary witch and well - I guess she taught the Dork Lord fear today?"
"Do I even want to know what happened?" Sal countered and with an internal sigh said his quiet evening goodbye. It seemed that his godfather had a sixth sense for whenever Sal chose to go to the Leaky Cauldron for any kind of meal. The other man definitely had developed a habit of turning up only minutes after Sal had sat down and ordered in the last few weeks.
"Ah… maybe not?" Sirius offered. "Just… well, we all got out alive and now Lily wants you to teach her runes."
Sal raised an eyebrow at that.
"And why should I do that?" he countered.
Sirius shrugged.
"Because she is a scary lady and I definitely will bring her to you because I like to stay alive?" Sirius answered and when Sal just looked at him in disbelief, the other man shrugged and added. "Hormones are scary things and they do even more scary things to the woman they've possessed."
"You make them sound like an evil ghost," Sal pointed out dryly at that.
Sirius shrugged unconcerned.
"It's the truth, no matter how it sounds," he countered and then leaned backwards in his chair. "So… will you teach her?"
Sal opened his mouth to answer, but was interrupted by Sirius before he could.
"And just so you know: if you say no, Lily will hunt you down and force you to teach her anyway. She's scary like that."
"Your description of her sounds very one-sided," Sal said instead of answering. "Are you sure you're not biased when it comes to her?"
Sirius on the other hand obviously didn't seem to mind the description because he solely shrugged with his shoulders.
"She's your ancestor," he pointed out. "Shouldn't you be as concerned as I when it comes to her? I mean, shouldn't you be used to her?"
Sal rolled his eyes.
"I'm far too old to be worried about a woman not even half my age - no matter our actual relationship," Sal countered. "So don't try to scare me with her behaviour."
Sirius pouted.
"I should have guessed something like that," he finally said sighing. "Will you teach her anyway?"
For a moment, Sal's gaze turned distant.
"I… might be persuaded," he finally agreed. "At least when it comes to the basics."
And like that, Lily Potter and Sal Sanctuary started to work together on theories of runes and magic older than even the oldest written account in the vaults of the British wizarding world.
"Theoretically," Lily said, looking at the parchment on theory in front of her. "If I changed the sequence here… wouldn't it change the whole spell?"
Sal looked down at the parchment.
"It would," he said. "But a change like that would turn the spell ineffective. If you'd want to keep it effective, you'd have to change the spell over there as well… and then the spell wouldn't be a simple protection anymore."
Lily frowned at that.
"What do you mean 'it wouldn't be a simple protection anymore'?" she asked confused. "It would still be the same spell, wouldn't it?"
Sal shook his head.
"It would change the meaning," he said. "Shortening the spell like that would ensure that it'd be more powerful in the end - maybe even powerful enough to stop a killing curse - but it also wouldn't function without a lot of magic."
Lily frowned.
"So?"
"It would drain you dry," Sal said, frowning as well. "It would require every inch of your magic and then some. I'm sure, if you didn't care about dying and maybe killing a second person as well in the process… well, then a spell like that would be the ideal way to stop…"
Sal trailed off, his academic interest suddenly drying up with a single thought.
"Sal?" Lily asked and looked at him.
"Written… written like that, it's a sacrificial spell," Sal continued, his eyes suddenly fixed on a scene only he could see in his head. "You'd have to love the one you'd want to protect more than your life, more than your partner's life, for it to be effective. Two sacrifices, two lives - for one to stay alive."
James, eyes open and unseeing on the floor of the living room.
Dead by Avada Kedavra.
Lily, pleading for the life of her son.
Dying by the killing curse.
Sacrificial magic.
Sal didn't believe in coincidence.
"So… the spell like it is would require two lives to work?" Lily asked with a frown. "Does that mean I'd have to kill myself to-"
"No," Sal said and swallowed harshly. "As long as you mean to sacrifice yourself for the one you want to protect, no matter how you die, the spell would activate. A sole rune on the forehead of the one you want to protect, full of your intent… well, if you wanted it to be, it would be enough."
"One rune?" Lily asked and looked at the short sequence of runes in front of her. "A specific one?"
Sal shrugged.
"To activate spells like that in a single rune, you need intent and practice," he said. "I wouldn't recommend it. Doing a spell like that as a layman is dangerous - doing it with a single rune and no protection against that kind of magic… it's more than stupid."
Lily blinked.
"But you told me I'm nearly good enough that I can actually do my protection soon," she said with a frown. "After that, I should be safe."
Sal sighed and nodded.
"Yes," he agreed. "Just… don't try and use one of the spells as long as you're not done with your protection. I'd hate to lose you to insanity because you didn't listen."
"I won't try anything without the protections," Lily agreed. "Nevertheless… that short-cut with a single rune… which one-"
"The one that feels right for you," Sal answered. "Runes don't have a universal short-cut. It's your magic and your intent, so the rune symbolizing the short-cut has to be chosen by you as well."
Lily nodded thoughtfully and looked at the potential spell in front of her.
"I think… ," she said, her gaze not leaving the spell in front of her. "If I had to choose, I'd choose Sowilo, the sun rune and the rune for victory. It… looks right, somehow, you know?"
And with those words, she traced an invisible lightning bold on the table.
Sometimes, Sal hated fate.
Nevertheless, in the end he took a deep breath, told himself that no matter what he did, the ending would still be the same, and then continued to teach Lily.
Of course, after hearing Sal's words about sacrificial magic, Lily wouldn't let it go, so while she didn't test the spell or others and still worked diligently on her runic protection, she also came to Sal more and more with questions about the possibility she had found and written out trials on paper - since parchment was a lot easier to charge with magic, so using paper was safer for spells like the one she was working on.
Sal hated it, but after the initial protest, he had stopped any kind of trying to persuade her differently.
Then, a few weeks into teaching Lily, she came to their meeting with another woman in tow.
"Sal," she said. "This is Pandora Lovegood. She has been interested in meeting you."
"My Prince," Pandora spoke up. "Daddy told me I had to talk to you if I wanted to join the fight against the current dark wizard."
Lily frowned at that.
"Wait! You didn't tell me you wanted to meet him because of-"
"Well, I thought you weren't planning on joining the group of the Professor," Pandora pointed out, her eyes resting dreamily on Lily. "So I didn't think you were interested in knowing… or are you also planning on joining Sanctuary's group and fear now that he will choose me because he's familiar with my father?"
Sal looked at Pandora in amusement.
"You could have simply talked with your father," he pointed out. "I think that Garrick Ollivander would have been agreeable and brought you to one of our meetings."
"But if I had done that, Lily would have never thought about joining your group," Pandora countered airily and smiled at Sal.
Lily next to her gawked.
"Why should I even think… why do you think that I should… Pandora!"
Pandora just patted her friend's arm.
"It's alright, Lily," she said. "I understand. You're pregnant and a bit hormonal."
Lily groaned.
"Somehow I suddenly regret bringing you with me," she told her friend before turning to look at Sal.
"Anyway, Sal," she added. "Explain to me what I'm doing wrong with my shortcut."
And with that, handed him her trials on paper.
"Oh," Pandora said and leaned closer. "Sacrificial magic, how come?"
In the end, it ended with Sal teaching both women the wards Lily had started on already.
That night, Sal woke breathing heavily and shaking.
His eyes searched the darkness of his current bedroom, but whatever he had dreamed, it hadn't followed him to reality.
" There's a boy. He's backed into a corner. It's your decision - but I wish you to take a second look at him."
And the only impression of the speaker where dark shadows, a hidden face and eyes like the moon.
" You're my balance."
Sal shook and curled into himself.
Balance.
Oddly enough, there was no word Sal wanted to hear less than that one.
A week later Sal came to Lily and his usual meeting point in one of the more discreet rooms in the Leaky Cauldron. He was a few minutes late thanks to some happenings with the resistance, but no matter what, he hadn't expected to run into that kind of conversation.
"I wish I was pregnant as well," Pandora said just before Sal entered and he stopped in the middle of opening the door. "But I fear it will have to wait a bit longer. My husband, Xenophilius, told me that our future daughter should only been born in a year, so we decided to wait until we're certain that she will be in the class below your son in Hogwarts."
Lily snorted at that.
"My son?" She repeated amused. "You are aware that neither James nor I know the gender of our future child, are you? It's not something that people can tell you until the child is born."
"I know," Pandora replied and there was a smile in her voice. "But you should also be aware that the legendary name is the immortal prince, not the immortal princess, are you?"
"What are you talking about, Pandora?" Lily's voice asked confused.
"Lore and facts," Pandora replied softly, sounding a bit mad while saying it. "Superstitions and believes. Whatever you want to name it, I'm talking about it."
Lily snorted.
"You're weird," she declared but it sounded fond. "You've always been weird."
"I'm my father's daughter," Pandora replied immediately. "What did you expect?"
"A more mellowed version of him, considering that half of your genetics comes from your mother?" Lily offered, still sounding amused.
Pandora laughed.
"Ah… true," she agreed. "That could have happened - if I wasn't an Ollivander. We only tend to inherit what is useful for our bloodline and gift."
Lily snorted.
"That sounds like something a Death Eater would say," she pointed out, her amusement a bit less than before.
"Why?" Pandora asked, sounding curious and a bit amused herself. "Because I talk about bloodlines? It's natural. It has nothing to do with the Death Eaters' views. I have a magical bloodline, your husband has, you have… everybody has."
Lily's frown could be heard in her voice when she spoke up next.
"I'm a muggleborn," she pointed out. "I don't have any familial connections to the magical world before I married."
"Of course you did," Pandora immediately objected. "It might have been centuries ago since your family last was connected to the magical world, but one time, it was. It's a fact that magic doesn't just turn up. It needs to be introduced into lines by either wizards, witches or magical beings who married into your family at one time in the past."
"That… sounds actually pretty plausible," Lily said slowly, sounding surprised.
"Of course it's plausible," Pandora replied. "It's true, after all."
Then, before Lily could say anything else, Pandora spoke up again.
"What will you name him?"
Lily was silent for a minute, obviously thrown by Pandora's change of topic.
"I… James told me about that custom," she said slowly. "The wizarding way to name children. We decided to use that way for our child. I… well, if it's a boy, I'm contemplating Harry."
"I wouldn't choose a name like that," Pandora immediately objected.
Sal could basically hear Lily frown.
"Why-?"
"A traditional name would be easier for the child to ensure that he fits in later on," Pandora pointed out. "We tend to gravitate towards unusual names - or names that don't even exist in the muggle-world."
"I like the name Harry," Lily countered.
"You could keep it," Pandora's dreamy reply came immediately. "A nickname like that could be short for Henry, Harold-"
"I don't think those names fit," Lily interrupted.
"Haraldr."
"Not better than Harold."
Pandora laughed at that.
"How about Harryjames?" She suggested amused.
For a moment, there was silence.
Then, Lily spoke up slowly.
"Harry… James?" She asked, changing the single name into two.
"No," Pandora corrected her gently. "Harryjames - one name. It's a very old, traditional name. It's mostly been used as a second or third name in the LeFay family and basically died out the minute the family vanished from the magical world."
For a moment or two, Lily didn't answer, then, she said slowly.
"That… might actually be a good option," she agreed. "I definitely like how the name sounds."
Before Sal could even think about revealing himself or stepping away from the door, Pandora looked at him.
"And how do you like that name?" She asked, looking directly at Sal.
Sal sighed.
"I definitely don't mind it," he finally settled on. "And I guess, you're right, Pandora. Harryjames is definitely one of the older magical names."
That was the first time, Sal actually started to understand that his atr might have been right the day he named Sal 'Harryjames after his mother's wish. It was an odd revelation after Sal had thought his atr to be wrong about his assumption for so long…
In the end, that day only fed his nightmares at night.
" Please, consider, Salvazsahar Serendu Harryjames, please, he's just a boy, after all!"
Nightmares after nightmares, fed by memories, present and future.
When Pandora came for the first time to the meeting of the Resistance, Sal wasn't too sure if he wouldn't regret it in the end, because at the end of the meeting, she was sitting next to Ana and talking animatedly.
"You're looking concerned," Garrick Ollivander said, watching Pandora and Ana as well.
"You aren't?" Sal countered, his eyes not leaving his son and the woman he was talking to.
"My daughter and your son?" Ollivander replied. "It's either world domination or hell on earth if they manage to work together for them. So no, I'm not concerned."
Sal threw his old friend an amused look.
"That's the reason why I am, " he pointed out before his eyes narrowed. "My son? How did you come to the conclusion that Ana's my son?"
"The way you act? He can't be anything but your son," Ollivander countered.
Then he threw Sal an amused look.
"Of course there's also the fact that he's always looking at you, following you with his eyes and always looking for your approval," he added. "Not to mention that he's been calling you 'Pater' from the beginning in a way that suggests that he's used to addressing you like that."
Sal snorted.
"That's one word I will never be able to get rid of in his vocabulary," he agreed with a sigh. "I don't think that Ana has even once called me by my first name. I've never even tried to get him to call me anything else."
"I know the feeling," Ollivander agreed and looked at his daughter. "Pandora's still calling me Daddy - and I bet that she won't ever call me something else as well."
Sal watched the two children with a frown on his face - a frown that just deepened when Marius. Arcturus and Pollux decided to join them.
"I guess for your son and my daughter, it's going to be world domination," Ollivander said dryly next to him. "Otherwise, the Blacks wouldn't feel drawn to their planning like moths to the flame."
Sal sighed, but otherwise couldn't actually do anything else but agree - Pandora, Ana and the Blacks… well, a combination couldn't end in something good - at least not for the opposition.
Just a few days later, Death Eaters all over learned to feel afraid of something new.
"Did it really have to be hares?" Sal asked his son exasperated.
Ana looked at him innocently.
"Should it be something else?" he asked innocently. "I mean, they're related to rabbits who are small and fluffy and cuddly, but at the same time they aren't - so having people be afraid of them would seem logical, wouldn't it?"
Sal opened his mouth to replied, thought about it, decided that it wouldn't matter what he said and closed it again.
"If you think so," he finally agreed.
There was a reason why Luna Lovegood would end up with a hare as a patronus charm.
Of course, after that incident, there were many more, with Pandora and Ana working together more often than not - something that didn't even change when Pandora dragged Lily to one of the meetings.
"Pandora, why-?"
"This is the meeting of the Nightwitches," Pandora interrupted her and forced her friend to sit down next to Cassandra Black and Andromeda Tonks. "We need another witch or two to help us."
Lily stared at her friend.
"Nightwitches," she repeated, a bit confused.
"We've been active since Grindelwald, dear," Cassandra assured Lily. "We have the best toys."
Lily blinked, then turned back to Pandora, deciding to ignore the woman next to her.
"I'm pregnant," she pointed out with a frown.
"And totally frustrated with how you've been forced to sit by since the Order of the Phoenix found out," Pandora pointed out. "As a Nightwitch, you would be in the middle of the fight without actually being in the thick of it."
Lily frowned.
"What do you mean, I would be in the fight without being in the thick of it?" she asked and watched when the others around her started to smirk at each other.
"Let's just say we have our way," Andromeda Tonks offered amused. "Pandora loves it."
"Of course I do," Pandora agreed immediately. "It's flying and action and a lot of fun!"
Before Lily could say anything about that, another person spoke up.
"Of course it is!" a male voice said and Lily turned to look at a young pale man with black hair and an oddly sharp smile. "It's something that Pater would call a way to live-out our Gryffindor-side!"
Cassandra Black snorted.
"You're the only one who's a Gryffindor here," she pointed out amused.
The man pouted.
"I'm not a Gryffindor," he countered. "I never went to school at Hogwarts."
"But only because you're a vampire," one of the other Black women countered.
The man crooked his head in a thoughtful look.
"No," he finally declared. "I don't think that's it."
His thoughtful gaze travelled through the room, until it suddenly enlightened.
"Ah!" he said. "I remember why I never went! I've always been too learned for Haugh's Wards!"
Then his gaze turned sad.
"Doesn't mean that Pater doesn't call me a Gryffindor anyway," he added. "Even if he has no evidence that I actually am one to begin with!"
A lot of the women surrounding the table snorted in amusement at that.
"What-?"
"That's Ana," Pandora interrupted Lily. "He's the only male with the exception of Marius who's part of the Nightwitches."
"Ana," Lily repeated the name and looked at the man with a frown.
The vampire shrugged and Pandora snickered.
"He argued that since his name sounds female, he should be allowed to be here," Andromeda spoke up amused. "We gave up arguing against it after Pandora joined him on his side and since then he's been officially part of us."
"Oh, alright…" Lily said and then turned towards Pandora again. "I know, you meant well, Pandora, but… I'm still pregnant."
Her voice was pointed when she repeated the most important part about her situation.
"So?" Pandora said. "We use brooms - and you don't show much right now… and even if you will have to take a break in between, you won't stay pregnant and there are always women staying behind to watch the children, so I don't see a problem."
Lily opened her mouth, gawked, closed it again and then blinked.
"Good point," she finally agreed before going on to another argument. "But James and Sirius-"
"Wouldn't be happy with the boys," Pandora countered. "They can stay on as consultants."
"I don't think them stumbling into our fights justifies them to call 'consultants'," Cassandra countered. "I'd call them accidental temporary acquisitions."
"We don't buy them," Andromeda countered. "I think accidental helpers might fit even better…"
Lily could only stand by and blink when the whole thing ended into a discussion how they should call James and Sirius and their accidental work-relationship with Salvazsahar and the Resistance.
"You see," Ana said, leaning over Lily's shoulder. "You fit here, totally."
Lily winced, surprised by the sudden voice in her ear.
"And don't forget, you're your own person," Ana added. "You don't have to do everything together with your husband."
Lily turned to look over the shoulder and at the vampire.
"I know," she said. "But I'm also not too sure if I should go and join another organization against You-Know-Who without telling him."
The vampire shrugged.
"Then tell him, talk about it and then decide," he said. "We'll still be there if you decide to work with us after talking with him."
Of course, Lily had no idea that being introduced basically meant being part of the Nightwitches. After that day, she would be in contact with everybody from there and in the end, it would only take two weeks for her to give in and go on her first mission with the Nightwitches. From then on, Lily would be part of them until her untimely death nearly two years later.
When Sal found out that Lily had joined the Nightwitches, he just shook his head at his son.
"I can't believe you went and involved Lily - one of Dumbledore's people in the Nightwitches," Sal said to Ana. "And don't tell me that it was Pandora's fault. You two are thick as thieves since you met each other so don't act as if you had no idea what she planned."
Ana shrugged.
"I thought her idea was good," he countered.
Sal sighed.
"Alright," he gave in. "Just don't teach her overly dangerous things. With my luck, she'll find another way to kill herself even faster."
"Than using a sacrificing ritual?" Ana asked amused. "I don't believe there are any faster ways left, Pater."
Sal just sighed, not really able to counter Ana's argument.
"Nevertheless," he finally said. "At least try to keep her alive for now."
Ana smirked.
"You and I know that she won't die," he countered immediately. "So, don't worry too much, nothing too bad will happen to her… for now."
And wasn't that a depressing thought - because in the end it had been Sal who had ensured that Lily would be able to end her life the way she had when he had been a fifteen-months-old child. It had been Sal who had ensured his survival - and the death of his parents. Sal wasn't sure if he would ever forgive himself for that…
That night, Sal would wake soaked in sweat…
" I'm sorry, Salvazsahar. I guess, the most of what has happened to you is my fault, after all…"
And the image of a boy drowning in a cave locked in his mind.
"You look distracted," Sirius said while sitting down in front of Sal.
Said man looked up and just sighed when he saw that Sirius had found him again just after he had sat down in his chair in the Leaky Cauldron.
"And you're still always there whenever I decide to stop here for a bite to eat," Sal countered. "Tell me, do you sleep here or how come you haven't missed meeting me here for months?"
Sirius grinned and then shrugged.
"Well, I have to keep in contact with you somehow," he pointed out.
Sal just rolled his eyes.
"You could owl me," he said.
Sirius snorted.
"As if you'd read it," he countered. "Since the day I found out that you're from the future, you have been avoiding me. You haven't come to Lily and James's, you haven't agreed to meet me anywhere and you even seem to steer clear of me on the battle field - a skill I'm definitely impressed by considering how often I run across your group there."
Sal opened his mouth, but Sirius interrupted him before he could get further.
"And don't tell me it's coincidence. I'm not stupid, you know?" he said pointedly.
"Pad-Daddy…" Sal said.
"That's dogfather to you!" Sirius immediately corrected, not even thinking about it anymore after all the time Sal had used 'Pad-Daddy' on him over the last months. It seemed to have turned into Sal's standard nickname for Sirius, no matter how often the other man corrected him.
"Dogfather," Sal agreed, and for a moment, Sirius wanted to let go his observations, but in the end, he knew it wouldn't help them at all if he did.
"Salvazsahar," he said instead, suddenly oddly serious for his normal cheerful demeanour. "What's going on?"
Sal shook his head.
"It's nothing," he answered when Sirius didn't relent. "Just… dreams… maybe nightmares."
Sirius raised an eyebrow and Sal shrugged helplessly.
"I dream about a man, leaning against a tree in a forest, watching me," he explained. "I know him. I'm absolutely sure that I know him, but no matter how often I try to think about him in my waking time, I can't remember where I have seen him before. It's there… but… it feels like it's buried beneath everything else and I can't grasp it."
Sal shook his head tiredly.
"Dreaming and questioning my dream… well, it doesn't help with the whole war situation and everything," he added and rubbed his eyes.
Sirius frowned.
"I don't think I get why you think your dream is important," he finally said slowly.
Sal shrugged.
"I don't get it as well," he said a bit helplessly. "It's just… something tells me I saw the man in the forest before - and whenever I saw him, the situation was anything but ideal for me. It… puts me on edge."
"You saw him before in less ideal situations?" Sirius repeated. "What do you mean 'less ideal situations'?"
Sal just sighed.
"Oncle Nick's potion's accident that nearly killed him," he answered slowly. "My mind tells me the stranger of my dreams was there, but my own memory tells me he wasn't. When London was swamped by the plague… well, it's the same. He was there, yet, he wasn't as well. It's confusing and it's giving me a headache."
"And you know him and yet don't know him from these instances?" Sirius confirmed Sal's words.
"Yes… no… maybe?" Sal sighed. "I know that I know him. I met him - but while I'm sure that I should remember, I don't and it's driving me crazy."
"Literally, the way you look," Sirius agreed amused before grabbing Sal's arm. "So, up you go. Let's go and visit James and Lily! Lily will be happy for the company. She looks like she's about to pop, you know?"
Sal rolled his eyes at that.
"It's the 30th of July. I'm not going anywhere near her right-"
He was interrupted by Sirius who simply side-along apparated him to Godric's Hollow.
"Are you insane?!" was the first thing Sal said the moment they reappeared in front of Lily and James's house. "I told you that I wasn't interested in coming here, so why by wind and fire did you drag me here anyway?!"
"You need a distraction - and Lily will provide it, I'm sure of it," Sirius answered with a shrug.
" Lily is heavily pregnant," Sal countered pointedly. "The only distraction she could do in the moment would be to give birth - and I have absolutely no interest in that kind of distraction!"
"You're a healer, so a woman potentially giving birth shouldn't keep you away," Sirius said dismissively.
Sal just stared at Sirius with a frown.
"It's Lily," he pointed out.
"So?"
" Lily ."
"Oh!"
Sadly, Sirius understood the implications that Sal wanted him to understand a bit too late, because before Sal could flee the scene, the door opened and James stepped out of it.
The man blinked in surprise at them, then smiled.
"Hey Sirius! Salvazsahar…"
"James," Sal returned the greeting with a mental sigh. "If you wonder why I'm here-"
"Ah, no, considering your admirer next to you, I can guess it already," James answered amused. "No need to explain!"
"Hey!" Sirius immediately protested. "I'm not admiring anything!"
"Sorry, Padfoot," James gave in before turning back to Sal and correcting himself. "Your pet, then."
Sal snorted amused while Sirius next to him spluttered.
"Pet?! Just because I'm a dog-"
"Don't finish that sentence," Sal interrupted him amused. "It could make everything worse, Pad-Daddy."
"Oye! That's Dogfather to you!"
"Dogfather."
James looked with amused interest from one person to the other.
"Do I want to know or is it better if I stay oblivious?" he asked the other two.
Sirius flushed, and Sal smirked.
"I thought that Pad-Daddy would be the perfect name for him," he told James while Sirius reached for him and tried to keep his mouth shut. "Considering that he'll be the godfather of your child. But-" There, Sal had to dodge Sirius frantic try to shut him up. "-he doesn't like the name at all. I can't understand, why!"
James blinked, staring at Sal for a moment uncomprehending, and then he started to roar with laughter.
Sirius pouted.
"You are the worst," he finally declared. "One meaner than the other!"
"We love you, too, Pad-Daddy," James replied while snickering.
Sirius growled.
Sal on the other hand rolled his eyes, still amused by the antics.
Then, James gestured towards the door.
"I guess you're here to entertain two heavily pregnant ladies?" he asked amused and Sal's amusement immediately vanished.
"Two?!" he repeated, suddenly not amused at all. "Who else-"
"Alice Longbottom is here," James interrupted him. "I know you two haven't met, but don't worry, I'm sure you'll get along quite well!"
Sal suddenly had a flashback to a time long gone.
Neville .
There was something about Neville that he should know which correlated with the current date, but considering how old that memory was, it was a bit like chasing fog. Sal was sure that he would remember it eventually, his inherited memory from his atr made sure of it - the question was if he'd remember it in time.
"I'm… not sure if I want to get along," Sal finally settled on. "Maybe, I should go and come by at a later time… like in two to three days?"
"Ah… no," Sirius countered. "I know you seem to be deadly afraid of a heavily pregnant Lily, but forget it. We go in there and visit. It's been months since you came by last."
"There was a reason for it," Sal mumbled but didn't object when Sirius grabbed him and dragged him into the house.
A reason that Sal saw as justified - especially when barely an hour later, Alice went into labour.
"You're a healer," Sirius said when Sal told him to get St. Mungo's.
"So?" Sal countered and stared at Sirius angrily. "The last time I had something to do with labour was at least a century or two ago. Do you know how much can change in a time like that?! And that's not even considering that birthing in St. Mungo's might be better for the mother and the child in the long run. Better aftercare for mother and child and so on!"
Sirius frowned, but then nodded.
"Will you at least look after her until St. Mungo's gives us a portkey or sends a healer?" he asked and Sal rolled his eyes a bit annoyed.
"I'm a healer," he pointed out. "Of course I will look after her until then."
That didn't mean that Sal was happy about it. At least now, his brain seemed to finally think it important to point out that once upon a time, Sal had known that Neville was born on the 30th of July…
Sirius nodded and then left the room to reach the fireplace and call St. Mungo's.
James, who had left the moment they recognised what was happening, returned to the room.
"I've send a Patronus to Frank," he said. "But he's working. There was a big raid in Norfolk and basically every Auror on duty was called to help there. It might take hours until he can come here."
"In other words, we're alone," Sal sighed. He had already ensured that Alice was sitting comfortable - and in a position that would ease her giving birth just in case she ended up giving birth before a healer of St. Mungo's was aviable.
Sadly enough, it was likely that St. Mungo's would be late. They knew that Sal was here and thanks to Sirius they knew that Sal was trained - a witch giving birth in the presence of a maybe home-trained healer was a lot less urgent than a lot of other cases… especially with a raid going on at the same time.
"I'm never going to forgive you for this, Sirius," Sal swore. "Never!"
Of course, in the end it just got worse when Lily also went into labour just minutes after Alice had given birth to a healthy baby boy - and of course, St. Mungo's healers were still not present…
Sal cursed his life.
"You can deliver my child as well, can't you?" James asked nervously. "St. Mungo's is still occupied with the raid."
Sal threw his future father a furious look.
"Yes," he gritted out. "I can - at least theoretically."
Not that Sal wanted.
If he had never wanted to do something, this was it. There was no way by wind and fire that he had wanted to be the one to help his mother give birth to himself - and yet, here he was, doing just that.
Of course, considering his luck in all things like that, baby Harryjames ended to be a difficult birth as well.
"The umbilical cord is wrapped around his neck."
"That… that's bad, isn't it?"
"Yes, Sirius, that's bad - and now let me work!"
It wasn't easy and there was a moment when Sal actually feared for the life of the child while at the same time knowing that there was no way the child would die considering that it was him. Nevertheless, for a moment after the birth, the baby was slightly blue and not breathing.
That changed with a simple rune, drawn on the child's forehead.
"Is he-?" James sounded hesitant and slightly nervous when he started his question before interrupting himself.
"Alive and well," Sal assured him before handing the child towards his mother in the traditional way that had already started the naming ceremony at the age of the founders.
Lily took the child and smiled.
"Harryjames," she declared and then held out the child towards the father.
James took his little boy, looking absolutely proud.
"Harryjames Salvatio," he said and then handed over the child to Sirius who seemed to be afraid to even touch the child. It was only James' fast reflexes that actually ensured that Sirius ended up holding the child at all.
For a moment the future godfather stared at the child in his arms in utter confusion and the beginning of devotion.
"Harryjames Salvatio Amethyst," he finally declared and for a second, Sal wanted to hit his godfather.
Amethyst.
AMETHYST!
That damn man had actually gone and named SAL Amethyst!
Sal had hated the female sounding name the first time around with the Mafoires already. Now, being here with his birth-parents and understanding that he had been named Amethyst all his life was indefinitely worse.
Only the fact that he wouldn't be able to explain why he ended up strangling his friend, kept him from actually going after Sirius for that damn name.
"I will get my revenge for that," Sal thought darkly. "Forget any special godfather-privileges! I will get revenge for that sometimes in the future!"
Of course, before Sal could actually start plotting Sirius' demise, 's healers finally turned up and stole Sal's attention away…
Nevertheless, when it was finally over and the first St. Mungo's healer left after he had showed up in the early morning hours, Sal turned to Sirius with cold fury in his eyes.
"I'm never - absolutely never going to forgive you," he told the other man. "And not just for dragging me here when I didn't want to go in the first place!"
"Trouble in paradise?" James asked amused, in his arms a sleeping baby.
Sal threw a cold and yet somewhat furious glance at the newly minted father.
"I'm quite sure I can include you in my revenge plans for Sirius," he told the other man. "Having two targets instead of one shouldn't really matter in the long run."
James raised an eyebrow and looked at Sirius.
"Somehow… I get the feeling he's in an even worse mood than he was just hours ago when he arrived," he said slowly.
"Yeah… well, I guess distracting him by helping two women giving birth… might have been the wrong way to improve his mood," Sirius said with a wince and looked guiltily at Sal. "In my defence - I wouldn't have brought you here had I known that Alice's and Lily's boys decided to pop out right then and there…"
Sal rolled his eyes.
"There was a reason why I was anything but happy to be dragged here," he countered, threw another pointed look at James and the baby in his arms, before he sighed and turned away.
He couldn't actually point out to Sirius that he had known and hadn't wanted to be here because he was from the future and Harryjames as definitely related to him. For a moment, he thought that Sirius had understood his pointed look, but then, Sirius spoke up again.
"You wanna hold him?" Sirius offered, having seen Sal's glance.
Sal stared at the other man as if he was insane.
"Do I look like I want to hold him?" he asked the other man before shaking his head. "You're mad, Pad-Daddy."
"Oye! That's Dogfather to you!"
Sal rolled his eyes at the other man - who had a dawning look of horrified understanding in his eyes after his automatic reply, obviously catching on, finally - bowed towards James, send a grin at Sirius and then vanished by apparating away with an uttered "Dogfather, Stagfather."
That night, nightmares plagued Sal's mind even harder than before.
A cave.
Inferi.
A drowning boy.
And behind it all, an old man with eyes like the moon.
"You're my balance. It's your decision how you balance me - but this time, I beg you to take a look at him."
Sal woke up, sweating and breathing heavily.
A boy.
A wish.
And the unbearable feeling that he had forgotten something important…
Oh, how much hated Sal the word 'balance' right now!
"You look distracted, Sal," Arcturus said, his face concerned. Pollux next to him leaned closer and looked at Sal with wise eyes.
"And you look as if you needed more than just a good night's sleep," he added, as concerned as Arcturus.
Sal sighed and he might have said nothing, if he had not seen Anastasius concerned glances in his direction ever so often.
"Nightmares," he finally settled on. "And I can't even explain them. They don't make any sense!"
"Do you have the Sight?" Pollux asked concerned. "Because if you do-"
"I don't," Sal assured him immediately. "I've never seen anything beyond what my own two eyes did."
And yet, he couldn't shake the urge and the feeling that something was about to happen that he might have the power to stop if he just opened his eyes…
" There's a boy. He's backed into a corner. You're my balance. It's your decision how you balance me - but this time, I beg you to take a look at him."
Sal shuddered and tried to free his thoughts from the cobwebs that seemed to fill his brain nowadays.
Idly, Sal wondered if the feeling was partly because he had now reached a time that he already existed in. Maybe it was because there were two of him?
"Don't be an idiot," Sal told himself. "You know that this shouldn't influence you at all!"
And yet, he couldn't deny that something did and whatever he wanted to pretend, he couldn't shake the truth.
In the end, the whole thing came to a head in a different way than Sal would have ever been able to guess.
That night, the dreams intensified even further.
The woods surrounding Sal seemed to be darker than ever, its shadows longer and the atmosphere was stifling, eerie and eldritch in a way that made Sal shudder.
Nevertheless, his dream-self continued to wander the woods surrounding him, searching for something - or someone.
There!
A shadow in the trees - a shadow unlike the others. It seemed darker that the others, more three-dimensional than them; different in a way Sal couldn't fully grasp, yet understood instinctively anyway.
Another step further and suddenly Sal understood what was different about the shadow.
It wasn't one.
It was a being - a living being.
A person…
Sal stopped, his eyes settling onto the person leaning against one of the trees - half hidden in the woods.
The moment Sal's eyes met the eyes of the stranger, the man slumped further against the tree next to him. Sal's eyes narrowed and he didn't even think about looking away from the potential threat.
"Salvazsahar," the stranger said finally, after their gaze had been interlocked for at least a minute or two. The stranger's voice was soft and foreign - yet it reminded him of a voice Sal had heard once, a long time ago.
Sal frowned.
The stranger leaned forward, his silvery white-looking hair gleaming in the moonlight.
His face was severe and his eyes were silver in a way that Sal should recognize everywhere, and yet, no matter how sure he was that he should recognize them, he couldn't.
And yet, something in the stranger's eyes was recognized by Sal's dream-self, because said self didn't ask who the stranger was but instead went on to another question.
"Old man, what are you doing here?"
Then his words registered in his mind and it rebelled against asking a stranger a question that shouldn't have been asked that way when you didn't know someone.
It was an odd feeling - a feeling as if Sal's sleeping-self was warring against his waking-one and winning.
Because, while a part of Sal rebelled against the familiarity with a stranger he couldn't recognize, his dream-self warred only with the fact that the stranger was in front of him again.
"How are you here? You're dead!" Sal blurted out his next words without another thought.
The stranger smiled and leaned back again, hiding his face in the shadows of the tree.
"It wouldn't be the first time," he agreed with Sal before sighing. "I'm sorry, Salvazsahar. I guess, the most of what has happened to you is my fault, after all…"
Sal watched the other man with narrowed eyes, but then he sighed and closed them tiredly.
"I don't think that you're at fault, in the end," he pointed out. "You weren't responsible for most of my way through time, after all."
The stranger sighed at that, sounding as tired and exhausted as Sal himself.
"I needed you, Salvazsahar," he finally confessed. "You were born too late - and I needed you. You might have come to the past to close the time loop, but in the end you followed my call. I needed you, so I called you - and you came."
Sal's eyed the tired man with a frown.
"Why?" He asked. "You had a son, an heir - and I was never anything but a happenstance, a concurrence, never asked for and only accepted because of circumstances."
The answer was another sigh.
"My family was touched by me. They were the coincidence, they were the concurrence," the old man replied tiredly. "I called you - and you came. You were my goal; you were the one I was living for and the reason why I existed like I did."
Sal stared at the stranger, basically unable to believe what he had heard.
"Old man," he said slowly.
The old man smiled at him sadly.
"That's what I am," he replied, his silver eyes resting on Sal's. "In more ways than one."
Sal frowned at that.
"I… don't understand," he said slowly. "You're…"
"The reason why everything happened to you. The reason why Peverell stepped in when he shouldn't have. The reason why you are who you are and why the grims are who they are," the stranger said and smiled thinly. "If you ever wanted someone to blame for everything you had to endure - I guess, I am the closest possibility to do so."
Sal looked at the other man, his eyes piercing and millennia older than his body's apparent age.
"You were there - when I met Mungo," Sal concluded the next moment, his mind supplying a memory he hadn't remembered until a second ago.
"When you met Mungo, when you exposed yourself to the white flames and when you rescued your Oncle," the stranger agreed. "I was there when you died and revived the day Camelot fell, I was there on the battlefield of the Battle of the Great North Fields, I was there when you met Eloise again in the hospital. I was there - always, everywhere and especially whenever you needed me."
"And yet, I can't remember you," Sal pointed out, his eyes narrowed.
"And yet, you can't remember me," the old man agreed, a bit sadly.
"You ensured I couldn't," Sal concluded, his eyes suddenly narrowing. "You will ensure it as well, this time around."
"It's not yet time, Salvazsahar," the stranger replied. "You're still not at that point you will actually need to remember, at the point you will actually need to know."
Sal sighed.
"If that's the case, why are you here, showing yourself to me?"
For a moment, the old man hesitated, his gaze wandering until he was looking at something far, far away that Sal couldn't see.
"I'm here, because I'm biased towards you," he finally confessed. "I shouldn't be, but you are my balance and I need you - and therefore I'm slightly biased towards you anyway."
"Your balance?" Sal repeated, his mind immediately catching the word he hadn't expected to hear.
"My balance," the stranger agreed. "And that's also the reason why I decided to come and see you in the end."
Sal frowned.
"So… what do you want?" He asked confused.
"There's a boy," the other man replied. "He's backed into a corner. It's your decision - but I wish you to take a second look at him."
"A boy," Sal repeated, his eyes narrowing. "You expect me to meet him, don't you?"
"I do and you will," the stranger replied immediately. "You're my balance. It's your decision how you balance me - but this time, I beg you to take a look at him."
Sal just looked at the stranger.
"You know the future - there's a reason why you ask me," Sal said. "Whyever you asked this of me - you need me to take a closer look at him. You want me to see him, because I doubt that you actually tried to influence me to see someone I'd never take a look at myself."
The stranger laughed at that.
"I always knew that you would be my perfect balance," he said amused. "I always knew it would be you I'd need to be understood by at least one person on this planet."
Sal shook his head, his eyes closing while his mind drew even further conclusions.
"You're also not here to ensure that I take a look at the boy you want me to look at," he said slowly. "You already told me that I won't remember, so the only reason you're actually talking to me is that you know I need your words in the future when I can remember them - so you decided to step in and tell them to me before I even meet the boy in question, before I decide to help him… which I will, because otherwise you wouldn't have bothered to tell me about the boy at all."
"You will remember," the other man replied. "Just like you remembered every other nightmare in the last few months."
Sal shuddered.
"The nightmares - you are the one who send them," he concluded.
"The boy," the stranger replied instead of answering. "He's important."
Sal looked at him.
"Important enough that you are willing to ensure that I remember," Sal concluded.
"Important enough that I'm willing to break my silence after all this time, yes," the other man replied and Sal couldn't help but frown.
"Why is he so important?" he asked the stranger.
The other man shrugged.
"For me? He isn't," he replied and his silver eyes found Sal's green ones. "For you, on the other hand… he could be very important. You're alive, no matter what else you are, and you need someone whom you can trust. The boy, just like the Blacks you know, might turn out to be one of those people sometime in the future."
"Might?"
The stranger shrugged.
"It's your decision," he replied. "But if he dies the possibility will be lost forever - and the potential of a possibility seemed to me a good enough chance to try and save him."
Sal frowned at that.
"Why do you even care?" he countered.
The stranger sighed, stepped forward and touched Sal's cheek.
"Because it's you and you are mine," he replied. "Because I don't want you alone in the world and because I know you need ties to this world. You will always need ties like that, no matter how long you will live-"
"I always found those ties by myself," Sal pointed out pointedly.
"But there were times where you didn't have any for longer than a lifetime," the older-looking man countered. "And I can't risk it - not this time around when you need those ties more than ever."
Sal stared at the stranger.
"Why?" he whispered.
The stranger just smiled sadly.
"Because you're mine and I don't want to lose you - so I will fight to keep you, no matter how unfairly I have to act to try and do so."
Sal opened his mouth, but before he could say anything else, the other man leaned forward and brushed his mouth against Sal's forehead.
Beneath the stranger's lips, the part where Sal's lightning bold scar was once visible started to burn hotly.
"I'm sorry, Salvazsahar," he said, and the next moment. Sal woke up to the burning on his forehead and the cold sweat on his neck.